November, 2009 | HD TV PROFESSOR

Month: November 2009

Gaming Redbox

November 30, 2009 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

If you don't know about Redbox, you probably should. They have more than 17,500 kiosks that look like bright red soda vending machines, except they deliver DVDs instead of soft drinks. A rental costs $1 per night, and you can return it to any kiosk -- not just the one where you rented it -- which is great for travelers. Redbox partners with major retailers including Walmart, McDonald's, and Walgreens,...

We Want Our HDTVs!

November 27, 2009 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Market researcher InStat has released the results of its survey on holiday shopper's plans for consumer electronics purchases this year, and the interesting news is that high definition products take the first and fourth positions on the top five product category list: • HDTVs • Notebook PCs • Digital cameras • Blu-ray players • Desktop PCs One interesting point is that while HDTVs also topped the list last year, this...

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 26, 2009 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

I'm not here today. I'm skipping breakfast and working out and trying to make a personal commitment to refrain from second helpings this afternoon, in hopes that I can manage to keep the scales from finding a new all-time high on Friday morning. However you plan to spend the day, I hope it provides you with many happy high-definition memories. And remember to rest up; Black Friday's coming! Thank you...

Hulu Grows Again

November 25, 2009 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

An article in Advertising Age reports that the latest Video Metrix results from comScore show that Hulu traffic jumped by 47% in October, mirroring a similar gain last year. The article attributes the gains to the advent of shows for the new fall season on the major networks: NBC, ABC, and Fox. The reported figures show that Hulu delivered 856 million video streams to 42.5 million unique viewers. Average viewing...

TV Guide For NeTVs

November 24, 2009 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Rovi announced yesterday that it has a TV Guide widget for the Yahoo! Widget Engine platform that is now available on select Samsung HDTV models. The utility provides listiings of programs on 28 of the most popular networks. The widget shows what's on now, as well as what's on next. The selections are also listed by category, such as Sports or Movies. This just one more clever use for NeTVs...

No-Battery Remote

November 23, 2009 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

It's a small problem, to be sure. A pair of penlight batteries in a typical TV remote control will last for years. But when you add up the millions of TVs (and DVD players and set top boxes and other devices that use remotes), that means an enormous number of batteries still end up in landfills. A French company, Arveni, has a diffferent vision for remote controls. One of the...

Silly Season in Full Swing

November 20, 2009 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Okay, if you want the coolest bargains on HDTVs, you probably will have to spend all your time just tracking the deals. In addition to the sales circulars and online specials posted at the retailers' Web sites, you can also check out the various Black Friday sites or monitor the year-'round bargain aggregators such as AntiRebate.com. I could write about such deals every day from now until the new year...

California Chooses Stick Over Carrot

November 19, 2009 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Yesterday, the California Energy Commission (CEC) made it official, and unanimously adopted new energy requirements for televisions sold in the state. It sets electricity consumption limits for sets up to 58" diagonal. The first level takes effect January 2011, at which time one source indicates a 42" must not consumer more than 183 watts. In January 2013, more stringent requirements will take effect; that 42" set will have to consume...

New Lamps for Old!

November 18, 2009 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

An evil sorcerer tricked Aladdin's wife into giving him the magic lamp by offer to swap new lamps for old. It's no trick this time around, however, as Warner Brothers has launched a campaign that lets you trade in your old WB DVDs in exchange for the same titles in Blu-ray format. They have set up a new site, www.dvd2blu.com, where you can make the exchange. Just select the titles...

3M Promotes Energy Star for HDTVs

November 17, 2009 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

The HDTV world is flat and turning green. Plasma and LCD panels dominate, and now manufacturers are fighting over who can make the most environmentally-friendly televisions (since there are relatively few other meaningful differences among their features). And one of the key focal points for these efforts is to use less power. The good news is that many of them have been quite successful in their efforts. Consumers can find...